


Living in paradise

by Meg_B678



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Family Fluff, Fledglings, Fluff, Protective Older Brothers, Supernatural - Freeform, bit of angst towards the end, heaven before the fall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:55:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29970822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meg_B678/pseuds/Meg_B678
Summary: Contrary to what Sam and Dean think, heaven was a very happy and peaceful place when Cas was growing up. A little fluff of him growing up with a bit of story mixed in. Chapters are a bit short but enjoy
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

“So Cas” Dean said out of the blue. The loyal angel turned to his friend with a questioning look,

“Yes Dean?” He asked,

“What was it like growing up in heaven?” Castiel was pretty taken aback. Why did Dean want to know? How could Cas even describe it?

“Well…” He started, unsure as to where to start. He had grown up over many millennia in heaven as opposed to a human’s eighteen years. He froze and Dean raised an eyebrow. He was amused at how stumped Castiel looked. It was the first time he’d really seen the angel lost for words, aside from the time he called him a baby in a trench coat.

“Well, were you there before Lucifer fell?” He asked hoping to target the angel’s memory and pick his brain. To be perfectly honest, he hadn’t much else to do and his inaction had caused his mind to wander. Since he knew all about Sam, Cas seemed like the more interesting person to talk to.

“Yes I was” He said, “Contrary to what people believed, he was a devoted brother and son. It was only when humans started to grow in importance did he start to fight with Michael. I remember a lot of the fights that used to shake up the very fields my brothers and I played on”

“Right, I’ve heard that story. Dad brings home a new baby, other kid gets jealous” Dean nodded,

“How he phrased it was we were being trained to be drones to bow down to humanity”

“So when Lucifer fell, did you help to fight against him?”

“When Lucifer fell, I was only a few millennia old. To you that would be close to a six year old child. However when Lucifer fell there was indeed a huge battle between the ones who stayed loyal to heaven and the ones who turned against it”

“So where were you during the battle?”

“Hiding” Castiel replied, “Most of us escaped the battles but a few angels broke off from the fight, taking advantage of the confusion… to go after the fledglings” Cas paused and at his hesitation Dean froze. He knew he’d just hit a nerve. He should turn back now but his curiosity was peaked,

“Why?” He asked,

“It seems some had a very sick sense of humour. They liked watching us scatter across the fields. Some even took it a step further and chased them towards a canyon. See if any would jump”

“Did they?”

“They were scared Dean. They’ve seen these angels murder their brothers. Many did jump… and a lot died” Castiel’s hesitance grew worse and now Dean had to abort mission and change the subject. But what should he say?

“What about Gabriel?” He asked, “I bet he was a fun brother”

“Well yes, he spent a lot of his free time with us. He was the youngest archangel”

“He sneak you candy?”

“Candy hadn’t been invented then Dean. This was before humans were created”

“Well do we also get credit for creating the prank or was that Gabriel?”

“Lucifer taught Gabriel to help him prank their brothers but it backfired quickly. That’s how Gabriel often spent time with us, hiding in the nursery with us after pranking him”

“Really?” Dean chuckled, trying to imagine pranking the devil. Castiel could tell that’s where his mind went and it saddened him slightly. Back then, Gabriel wasn’t pranking the devil. He was pranking his older brother, the morning star. Back then it was peaceful and perfect. It was paradise…


	2. Archangels

Michael was a powerful angel. The first ever, heaven’s warrior but he was also a devoted brother. He loved his brothers and sisters and would do anything for them. Castiel looked up to him and admired him but also slightly feared him. Though the archangel never gave him anything to actually fear, he felt small in his presence, like the archangel could accidentally step on him and never notice as opposed to the youngest archangel Gabriel. Gabriel could recite the name of every fledgling, know exactly how old and what each fledgling aspired to do. He was by far Castiel’s favourite. Probably most fledglings’ favourite. Raphael was always nurturing towards the fledglings but he also didn’t seem to know how to handle them despite Lucifer’s instructions. Now Lucifer was another archangel the fledglings favoured. He was very playful with them. You could always tell when Lucifer or Gabriel were with the fledglings as squeals of joy could be heard from the nursery and the fields. It warmed every angel who heard it, making them smile. It was on one sunny day though that Castiel found himself alone. He was sitting in the meadows counting blades of grass. He didn’t notice anyone approach until he saw their shadow loom over him and he looked up,

“Hey Castiel” Gabriel said happily,

“Hi Gabwiel” Castiel replied. He was close to what humans call a two year old,

“Whatcha doin?” He continued. Castiel picked a single blade of grass and gave it to Gabriel. He gave a proud smile that made Gabriel smile with him, “Well, looks fascinating, wanna do something else?” Castiel nodded his head vigorously, “Wanna help me prank Lucifer?” The little angel gave a mischievous smile that really shouldn’t belong on such an angelic face. Gabriel smiled back, “I’ll take that as a yes” He picked up the toddler, sneaking him out of the nursery like he’s trying to sneak a bag of weed through security. It was a simple prank but a good one. A nice cold shower for when Lucifer would walk out of his room. The pair lay in wait, Castiel happily smiling in anticipation making Gabriel chuckle,

“What are we laughing at?” A voice said next to them, “We pranking someone?”

“Yeah, Lucifer” Gabriel said without thinking. Castiel turned to the voice and giggled,

“Luci” He cried causing Gabriel to flinch and turn sharply,

“Woops” He said, unable to contain his laughter at his own mistake,

“We fought yous in dere” Castiel pointed to the door,

“Oh really?” Lucifer picked him up, holding him to his hip, “You want to know what’s more fun than pranking me?” Cas nodded, “Getting Gabe back for last week” He gave his own mischievous look at Gabriel. And just like that, Gabriel was gone. Castiel laughed more, clapping his tiny hands, “Come on Cassie, let’s catch Gabriel and teach him a lesson” Lucifer took flight with Castiel in his arms still laughing and giggling.


	3. Big bros

Balthazar was a lot older than Castiel but he was also really close to him. Balthazar would always watch out for his little brother, not to say there were ever any actual dangers to watch out for. Even on earth the fledgling was just as invulnerable as any other angel. Funnily enough, the only thing that could possibly hurt him were his own brothers. Gabriel smiled while watching the fledglings play as he cradled a young brother, sleeping peacefully in his arms. He was glad Balthazar watched out for Cas. On earth he has a tendency to wander off, luckily Balthazar’s eagle vision spots him and they never seem to lose him. Unfortunately, this time he was engaged in conversation with his sister Anna. He didn’t even realise the innocent little fledgling wandering off after a bee. When he turned back, panic ensued as he couldn’t find his favourite little brother. He stood up suddenly, catching the attention of the youngest archangel. He took off in a direction, Anna noticing his panic went to Gabriel for help,

“What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked,

“Castiel wandered off. Balthazar went to look for him” She replied, though not as panicked as Balthazar, she still had a look of worry. Gabriel nodded before turning to Raphael next to him,

“Here, hold him” He passed a young sleeping fledgling into his brother’s awaiting arms,

“What’s wrong brother?” Raphael asked,

“A fledgling’s wandered off. Guess which one”

“That boy will get himself into trouble one day” Raphael said turning to cradle the young fledgling in his arms dotingly. Gabriel smiled and went to follow Balthazar with Anna following him,

“Cassie!” They could hear Balthazar calling and followed the noise to him,

“Hey Zar, you ok?” Gabriel came up,

“Castiel wandered off while I wasn’t looking, I’m sorry, I should have kept an eye on him”

“Hey it’s fine. Trust me that little fledgling could slip out from under your nose whether you were watching him or not. Don’t worry we’ll find him” At Gabriel’s words the older fledgling calmed down and the three of them went out searching. Anna was starting to worry more. It had been ages now and there was still no sign of her little brother, “Here, I’ll get an aerial view, maybe that will help” Gabriel took flight leaving the fledglings to look for Castiel on the ground. Both were still too young to fly, though they were old enough to glide and perhaps stay up for a while. Balthazar had already been prepping for the day he’d start flying. He wandered on until he noticed a couple black feathers. Thankfully Castiel was in mid moult though his feathers are only really being replaced by even fluffier downy feathers as winter starts to creep in. As Balthazar thought of it, a thick winter chill rolled over him and his wings instinctively fluffed to add some extra protection from the cold. It only made him more worried about Castiel as he was a late moulter,

“I found him” Gabriel said from the air, “Follow me” Both fledglings took off running on foot, gazing at the sky often for Gabriel’s direction. The grass below their feet had started to become sand and the air around them became slightly salty to the taste as they approached the ocean. Gabriel landed on the sand with them to see Castiel on the shore staring intently at the sea. A small grey fish was in the process of heaving its way onto the shore with tiny arms. Though it was only small and weak, Balthazar was amazed by it. It was the first he’d seen of any animal on land, he'd heard his brothers talking about it arriving soon. The fish’s gills struggled for air however just managed to gain enough oxygen to keep it alive. Castiel looked at it stunned, taking a few unsure steps towards it. Gabriel took his hand and stopped him in his tracks gently, “Don’t step on that fish Castiel” He replied, “Big plans for that fish” Castiel looked up at Gabriel amazed, tilting his head curiously, “This fish will come to be the first life on land. And some day, there will be men”

“Men” Castiel sounded out. The word was foreign to him, he’d never seen or heard of such a word and the wonder grew on his face. Gabriel smiled,

“Come on, let’s get back. Everyone will be wondering where we are” Gabriel picked up the fledgling and walked beside Balthazar and Anna back to the group. Castiel shivered at the winter breeze around them and Gabriel moved one wing up to warm him. He snuggled into the archangel until he eventually fell asleep. Raphael had become impatient waiting for Gabriel and a couple other angels were starting to bring the other fledglings back up to heaven,

“Where were you?” Raphael asked, slightly hushed to not wake the fledgling in Gabriel’s arms,

“Cassie found his way to the ocean to see the first fish starting to crawl out”

“It was amazing” Anna said with a similar wonder that had filled Cas just a couple minutes ago. Raphael smiled at her,

“Well now that your little adventure is finished, Gabriel could you help watch them while we bring everyone home” Gabriel nodded as the other fledglings flocked to him. Raphael took a couple smaller fledglings and flew up. Gabriel sat down on the grass, opening his wings to invite the fledglings to sit with him. Many all sat within the warm tent he created and a couple of the younger fledglings had tired themselves out today and were starting to drift off on their siblings’ shoulders. Balthazar also found himself yawning. He’d had enough excitement today. He’d feel better once Cas was in heaven and couldn’t wander off and get lost. More adult angels were appearing to bring the sleepy fledglings up until eventually Balthazar was taken up by Raphael, Gabriel accompanying him with Cas in his arms. Once home Gabriel brought Cas to his bed and tucked him in.


	4. Alone time

Gabriel loves to prank his older brothers and loves to play around with his youngest brothers but sometimes he just needs some time alone. He secluded himself on the edge of heaven, enjoying his own company for a while. He gave a sigh, closing his eyes and enjoying the breeze until he felt another presence. Though originally annoyed that he couldn’t find peace even at the very corners of heaven, he paused once seeing the little fledglings. They weren’t looking for him, didn’t even know he was there. The fledglings were Hannah, Castiel and little baby Samandriel. They carefully peered over the edge, looking down at the blue sea below them,

“A you sure?” Hannah asked, “I don seeny fish”

“I saw one walking out de sea” Castiel replied. Hannah looked awestruck. Gabriel smiled at the fledglings but as they were talking, nobody was watching the baby slowly crawling closer to the side, “Sammie, no” Cas just noticed as the baby leaned dangerously over the edge trying to see the fish. Though Cas grabbed him, the pair still tumbled over the edge,

“Cassie! Sam!” Hannah cried as they started to tumble down. Gabriel jumped into action and dove off the edge after the tumbling kids. He swiftly grabbed them and flapped his wings, sending the three of them back up to the edge where Hannah was. Gabriel landed safely, sitting at the edge cradling the kids while Samandriel was crying. Castiel was hugging him,

“I sowy Sammie” He said before looking up at Gabriel, “We in twouble?” He asked with pleading puppy dog eyes. Gabriel put the two down,

“No you’re not in trouble” Gabriel sighed, “But what are you doing at the edge of heaven, don’t you know how dangerous it is?”

“I sowy” He said again looking down at his feet, “But we wanna see da fishes”

“If you wanted to see the fish you just had to ask us” Gabriel replied, “You shouldn’t wander off on your own”

“So can we see da fish?” Hannah cautiously approached them. Gabriel smiled at her,

“Come here, let’s go see the fish”

“Yay” Hannah and Castiel cheered. Samandriel was smiling again. As Cas was already in his arms holding onto Samandriel, Gabriel just put his arm around Hannah and took them down to the ocean. By the time they came back, Castiel’s hair was just starting to dry. Their wings were still heavy with water and Hannah’s mop of brown hair was drenched. But all of them were happy and laughing. They were still giggling as Gabriel brought them back to the nursery. Michael was with the kids along with Lucifer. Michael calmly chatting with some older fledglings while Lucifer was more energetic chasing some and catching them, throwing them up in the air and catching them again. Either way, there was no way the young archangel could just smuggle them back in without being noticed. It was Michael who saw the fledglings giggling and saw them soaking wet. He just smiled, rolling his eyes,

“What did you do to them Gabriel?” Michael asked,

“They wanted to see the fish” Gabriel replied,

“De ones cwawing up de beach” Hannah corrected, gesturing with two fingers like legs, “And Gabwiel took us undewater to see em”

“I saw a squid!” Castiel exclaimed. Michael’s smile grew at his brother’s enthusiasm, he loved seeing the fledglings so excited about their father’s creations. They all turned to the squeal as another fledgling struggled in Lucifer’s grip.

“LUCI!!” She squealed as she was thrown up into the air. Lucifer easily caught her again,

“Gotcha” He said as he caught her. Her laughter raised an octave as Lucifer’s hand slipped under her armpit and wiggled down her ribs. Gabriel put Hannah, Castiel and Samandriel down on the ground and they rushed to rescue their sister,

“Fwee Wachel!” Castiel cried. Hannah ran with him, rallying the other fledglings in a full frontal assault to bring the lightbringer down. Much to Michael and Gabriel’s amusement, heaven’s second most powerful angel was brought down by about twenty or so fledglings. The archangel was buried under an assortment of colourful wings and from the pile his brothers could hear him screech in surprise. The fledglings started to organise their attack to hold him down while the other archangels just watch, laughing. Rachel, the little fledgling Lucifer was previously tickling was getting her revenge until Lucifer fought back, managing to stand up again, the fledglings all tumbling off him,

“So it’s a fight you want” He smiled evilly. The fledglings soon dispersed again, screaming and giggling. Lucifer’s next victim was Castiel, slowed down by the weight of his wet clothes and wings. Lucifer picked him up and pulled his back into his chest. Once he felt the wetness in the fledgling’s wings soaking into his robe, he realised that Castiel was soaking wet, “Gabriel what have you done to him? Have you been pranking fledglings now?”

“Nah, I took them to the ocean” Gabriel replied while Castiel struggled in Lucifer’s firm grip,

“Le go!” He cried,

“Never” Lucifer replied to the fledgling, “Who else led the charge?” He asked. Castiel just giggled a bit more, “I have ways of making you talk Cassie” Lucifer chuckled starting to tease the little fledgling’s sides making him flinch and laugh more, “Was it Hannah?” Castiel was too busy laughing to answer as Lucifer’s free hand moved on to Castiel’s very ticklish tummy,

“Cassie!” Hannah called to her captured brethren. Castiel tried to reply but even then he was laughing,

“Hannahahah! Help!” Castiel’s laughter grew as Lucifer started gaining altitude. Then without warning Lucifer blew a large raspberry in Castiel’s neck causing his laughter to get even louder if that was even possible, “LUHUCI!!” Castiel cried,

“Hey Lucifer, kid’s gotta breath sometime” Gabriel said with a huge smile on his face. Lucifer finally stopped Castiel’s torment though he was still giggling slightly afterwards trying to calm down,

“If you aren’t too busy, you could try catching the other two Gabriel had so I could dry them off” Michael said cradling the still chuckling Castiel in a white fluffy towel,

“That sounds like a lot of fun” Lucifer turned his head to the onlooking fledglings, “Hey Hannah” He sang before taking off again, chasing the fledglings down. The other archangels just chuckled and Michael started to towel dry Castiel’s hair and wings,

“We’ll get you into something drier and warmer once we have everyone” Michael said once noticing the fledgling starting to shiver, “You do realise that winter is coming Gabriel, wet and cold fledglings are not ideal during this time”

“Aw come on Michael, we were just having some fun” Gabriel smirked,

“Next time have your fun without making them sick” Michael replied moving on to Castiel’s wings. He looked up at the sounds of shrieks and saw Lucifer had successfully captured Hannah, “Grab a towel Gabe, you’re getting this one”

“He’s going to keep her for a while” Gabriel could tell before Lucifer even started to tickle her,

“Well, you grab Samandriel and dry him off”

“Bawfy” Castiel saw his brother among the few fledglings that had flocked to Michael. Many of those fledglings had helped bring the other archangel down and were currently running with the younger ones but Balthazar broke off from the group to see his brother,

“Where were you?” Balthazar asked,

“De sea. I saw fish” Castiel replied, “I saw squid an eel an a whale!!”

“Waw, you saw a whale?” Balthazar smiled at his brother,

“Yeah, wight Sammie?” Gabriel was currently drying off the youngest fledgling of the group,

“Ye!!” Samandriel would have been close to a six month old child so he was only just using sounds as words. There was more screaming as Lucifer tickled Hannah. She hollered and laughed loudly, causing the conversation to be dropped and Castiel and Balthazar to laugh at their sister. Eventually Lucifer felt that he’d exacted enough revenge and brought her to Michael who had just finished drying Castiel. He wrapped Castiel in his towel to keep him warm and got a new one to dry Hannah. The three fledglings were starting to get tired. In fact a lot of fledglings were. One thing about Lucifer is that he knows just how to handle each hyperactive ball of feathers, managing to tire them out by nap time. Iris and Iona, the two angels in charge of the nursery were helping to round up the fledglings and bring them back to their nests. While there, Castiel, Samandriel and Hannah were given a change of clothes and Balthazar led his sleepy brother to his nest and tucked him in.


	5. Nightmares

When the fledglings fall asleep, it’s work time for the archangels. Gabriel’s least favourite time. But it had to be done. He sighed, organising the scrolls on his desk to get stuck into his work. As the messenger of heaven, he had to be able to give messages to the humans by the time they are able to talk. That meant being able to understand their language. Father had told them that they will not speak in enochian like the angels do. But learning a new language before it is even invented is extremely hard, not to mention, humans may create new variations of some words or phrases. The only way he could possibly know is by travelling in time and that takes a lot out of him. He heard a knock on his door,

“Gabriel” Lucifer came in, “Michael needs our help”

“With what?”

“Remember that ice age we were planning? It’s been postponed. Father’s worried his new creatures are too primitive to survive it”

“Well where are we meant to move all those clouds?” Gabriel asked wandering out with his brother,

“I think Michael told us to take them to the poles. Let’s go” The two took off and spent the whole day moving the clouds around. By the time they were finished, Gabriel shuffled back to his room. His wings drooped, heavy with weariness and his body ladened with sleep. He would not be finishing his work today. He flopped down in his nest and was about to go to bed when he heard yelling and crying. He perked up on realising it was coming from the nursery. He got up with a slight urgency in his tired walk as he reached the nursery. He pushed the door open slightly to see Balthazar cradling a crying Castiel. He wandered in,

“What happened?” Gabriel asked walking in, taking the fledgling in his arms,

“Cassie had a nightmare” Balthazar replied. The little fledgling curled up, still whimpering in Gabriel’s arms. Gabriel pulled him to his chest and rubbed slow soothing circles into his back,

“It’s ok Castiel” He said, “What was it about?”

“No, no it…” Castiel replied but he couldn’t get it into words. Instead, images of horrifying creatures flashed before Gabriel’s eyes. Their black goo clung around Cas’ hands and feet like rope, covering his mouth and their red eyes surrounded the fledgling. They were talking too with such deep, dark voices,

“Castiel is gone. We run the show now” Gabriel was concerned that such a hellish nightmare had plagued him, especially at such a young age. He had to wonder if it meant anything. The dream continued on with the goo moving his arms and legs like puppet strings into a pool of water where he died. Exploded actually. Gabriel sighed, pulling Castiel closer,

“It’s ok, it’s just a dream, nothing like that will ever happen to you. I promise” Gabriel forgot his tiredness as he waited for Cas to calm down. The fledgling quietened to small sobbing as Gabriel sat with him. Balthazar was next to him too. When Cas had finally stopped crying Balthazar pat his shoulder,

“Would you like to sleep in my nest with me?” He asked. Castiel nodded and held his hands out to Balthazar who picked him up. Gabriel walked with them until Balthazar got to his room,

“If he has any more of those dreams, come get me” He said before leaving the two fledglings to get some sleep. He wandered back out of the nursery,

“Everything ok?” Gabriel looked up to see Michael, “You seem troubled”

“It’s Castiel. He had a nightmare”

“A nightmare?”

“A real serious one”

“What about?”

“Being trapped, tied up in black goo. Surrounded by glowing red eyes” Michael stiffened at that and wandered over to Gabriel,

“You mean Leviathans?” His voice very low just above a whisper. Gabriel nodded,

“What’s so wrong with that? The kid had a dream” Lucifer came up to them,

“He’s never seen Leviathans before brother” Gabriel said, “But he had every detail in his head, right down to the voices”

“Ok…” Lucifer nodded slowly, “So could he have been forecasting future events?”

“I hope not” Gabriel replied, “He died in the dream”

“The Leviathans are all stuck in purgatory, no one can get in or out”

“Evidently something must have for the kid to have those images”

“Get some rest Gabe” Lucifer suddenly became aware of Gabriel’s strained attention, “Michael, maybe you should ask father about it” Gabriel went to his room. He collapsed in his nest again and slept. As he woke up again hours later, he felt he needed to check on his favourite fledgling. He was worried he hadn’t got enough sleep last night and he saw the young angel sitting out in the fields of heaven. He sat on his own, looking down at the grass, counting like he would when he was bored. There were no insects in heaven he could be fascinated about,

“Hey Castiel” Gabriel came over to him and sat opposite him, “Whatcha doin?” The fledgling looked up at him and per usual, he plucked a single blade of grass and gave it to Gabriel. However, he didn’t give that usual pleased smile. It was a little weaker this time, his eyes drooping and Gabriel only realised that his wings were also drooped with his back slumped over, “Come here” Gabriel picked the boy up and pulled him close, “You tired?” Castiel nodded, “Maybe you should get some more sleep” But the little fledgling refused, “Come on Cassie, you need it”

“No sweep” The fledgling said just before he yawned. Gabriel looked up and caught Lucifer’s eye as he stood farther away. Lucifer came over to them,

“How’s our little rascal?” He said. Gabriel shook his head, “Bad sleep?”

“No sweep” Castiel repeated,

“Did you not sleep at all?” Lucifer asked, “Then how will you be able to outrun me today?”

“Bad dweam” He whimpered. That little noise broke both archangels’ hearts. Lucifer sat down cross legged beside Gabriel,

“Well you know bad dreams aren’t real” He said gently, “That nothing like that could ever happen to you. None of us would ever let that happen” Castiel started to sob,

“I don wike it” He said before burying his face in Gabriel’s chest,

“I know” Lucifer rubbed his back. He wished he could do more and prayed that father would give him some good dreams tonight. As he thought this, he could see Michael standing with their father across the field. At first they were just talking but at the sound of the fledgling’s cries, both were looking at them. His father’s face fell, the very sight of the upset fledgling was enough to make any heart break. Little Hannah also heard Castiel’s sobbing and wandered over, worried for her brother,

“Cassie? What happened?” She asked. Castiel’s sobbing went silent but his shoulders still heaved to show he was still crying,

“Your brother had a bad dream last night” Gabriel explained, “And now he’s really tired”

“You fink daddy will give im good dweams tonight?” Hannah asked hopefully, “Den Cassie will be happy again” Castiel turned to his sister and she pulled him into a hug, “Pwease be happy” She said,

“I twy” Castiel replied, wiping the last of his tears. Hannah took his hand and led him along the fields to where Anna and Balthazar were,

“Hey Cassie, you ok?” Anna was also made aware of Castiel’s dreams by Balthazar. Cas just nodded tiredly and Anna took his other hand and they headed to the small woodland. That didn’t stop the two archangels worrying about their little brother. They headed over to Michael and their father,

“How is he?” Michael asked,

“He’s tired. I don’t think he slept much after his nightmare” Gabriel replied,

“How can such a young fledgling have such a disturbing dream?” Lucifer looked to his father for the answer,

“I’m sorry but it confuses me too. Castiel must have been exposed to something while out of our sight on one of his usual wanders” Chuck looked over at the woodland, watching the fledglings dipping in and out of the trees energetically with Cas following, trying to match their energy,

“So what can we do about it?” Michael asked,

“I’ll watch over him tonight” Chuck said. He looked like he wanted to say something but he refrained. Lucifer could tell he knew more than he was letting on but he was a good son and did not question his father. If he hadn’t told them there must be good reason for it.


	6. Chuck knows something we don't

Castiel was on another of his wanders. He’s been told before not to wander off and he always forgets. Earth is just too interesting for a growing fledgling like himself. He followed a new species he’s never seen before, a small furry squirrel. Walking deeper into the forest, he followed it as it scurried through the trees until he eventually lost it in the thickening tree cover. When he looked around he realised he didn’t know where he came from. The trees were too thick for Gabriel to spot him from the air. He wandered around trying to find his way for a while until he bumped into a figure he hadn’t realised was standing there. When he looked at it, he noticed black blood dripping from their nose. He took in this figure and though he looked like an angel, something was wrong with him. Castiel couldn’t identify him. He didn’t have a name for this face, the blue eyes and dark hair. He only then realised that it was him. An older version of him but he was smiling widely. A sickly smile that Cas knows he’s never used before and hoped he never would. Black veins reached up his neck and across his face. This figure pulled on Cas’ collar pulling him close and Cas noticed the black goo strangling his halo, his black wings dripped like ink,

“Oh this is going to be so much fun” The man smiled. Cas pulled out of his grip and started to run desperately until he thought he was safe from this figure when he ran into another. He stopped so suddenly to not bump into this person that he actually fell back. He crawled away to a tree to hide. He peered out at the person that seemed to take no notice of him. He wasn’t an angel. Cas couldn’t identify what he was. This being had light brown hair and green eyes. His gaze hardened at something in front of him, when Cas looked round, his older version had followed him,

“How many of you are in there?” This new person asked. He didn’t speak enochian but Castiel was surprised he could understand him, “Hundred? More?” Cas watched the black goo again, it was dripping out of his older self’s clothes and down his brow, “Your vessel’s melting. I wouldn’t do anything too strenuous. In fact I’d call it a day and head on home”

“We’ll be back” Castiel’s older self turned and walked off.

Castiel woke up. He was under a tree but he was in heaven. His siblings were playing not far from him. When he started awake Balthazar took notice and wandered over to him,

“You ok?” He asked. Cas shook his head, he looked down at his hands to see the fistfuls of grass he must have plucked in his sleep, his grip felt weak from when he’d tensed up. Balthazar picked him up and started to take him to his room,

“No” Cas said once he realised where he was going, “No sweep”

“You need sleep” Balthazar said, tucking his little brother up in his nest,

“No!” Castiel struggled under his baby blue blanket,

“Shh” Balthazar hushed trying to calm him but Castiel just started to cry. He didn’t have the energy to throw a tantrum so instead he laid down and begged,

“No pwease” He said,

“Hey, I’ll stay with you”

“No sweep!” His yelling had brought attention. The next person to open the door was Chuck,

“Daddy, I can’t get Cassie to sleep”

“No sweep” Castiel kept repeating. Chuck sighed, sitting down next to Castiel’s bed. He had Balthazar sit on his lap,

“I heard you’ve been having some bad dreams” He said,

“Bad dweams” Cas echoed,

“You tired?” Cas nodded, “Then sleep. I’ll make sure you don’t get any bad dreams” Cas gave a moan in protest, “I know you’re scared” Chuck started to stroke his hand through Castiel’s hair, “But I will always protect you. You know I’ll always watch over you. You trust me right?” Cas yawned but nodded, “Yeah, so don’t worry. I’ll make sure you never have those bad dreams again” Chuck leaned over Cas to kiss his son’s forehead. The kiss put weight on Castiel’s eyes. Chuck, true to his word, stayed with Cas and kept him safe, “Go on Balthazar, go play” He dismissed his other young son who was still sitting on his lap. Balthazar went to the door and looked back at them. Chuck watched over Castiel. Once alone, Chuck took away Castiel’s memory of his future. He thought Cas had discovered something while rummaging in his office but he hadn’t realised just what he’d found until Michael came to him. A fledgling that young shouldn’t have such knowledge. Looking at him now Chuck felt sorry that his son would suffer such a fate but it was too late to change it now, his story was already written.


	7. New creatures

At this time, Cas was growing up. He was about three years old now. Hannah would have been two and a half and Samandriel, barely a year old. Balthazar and Anna, seven and eight years old, watched over the group protectively. Despite the ages, millennia have passed over the earth below them. Castiel’s nightmares had completely disappeared along with his memory of them. He was off on a usual wander yet again. Balthazar keeping an eagle’s eye out until Castiel bumped into another fledgling, he had been too busy watching the new birds, he wasn’t looking where he was going,

“Sowy Uwel” Castiel said. Uriel was closer to Balthazar’s age and usually quite the grump. Today was no different,

“Just watch where you’re going” He grumbled and walked away. Balthazar wandered over but the young fledgling hadn’t even noticed Uriel’s sour temperment,

“Ok” He said and wandered on after the birds again. Balthazar just rolled his eyes at his brother, his attention was so far away Uriel could have insulted him and he wouldn’t have noticed. The next person Castiel bumped into was Michael who was sitting back against a tree, relaxed. The archangel smiled as Cas still had his eyes on the sky, “Sowy” He said, moving to climb over Michael’s legs to follow the birds again. Michael chuckled,

“And where are you off to in such a hurry?” He asked,

“What dat?” Castiel pointed to the birds,

“Those are birds Castiel, they’ll soon occupy the whole sky. That is a blackbird and those are swifts”

“Waw” The little fledgling had paused to hear Michael and Michael held him as Cas balanced on his legs,

“Mikey! Help me!” A cry caught both the fledgling and archangel’s attention. Lucifer was trapped under several small bodies and he couldn’t stop them climbing over him. He was laughing uncontrollably. Michael smiled at his younger brother’s predicament. Castiel was also laughing though he didn’t seem to join in with the other fledglings. He had learned his lesson last time. Michael pretended to think about it,

“Hmm, I don’t know Luci, what’s in it for me?” He asked,

“Hehehelp!!” He called still laughing his head off. The fledgling’s outnumbered him twenty to one and though none of them compared to his own strength, wrestling with so many at once was still a challenge. A challenge Lucifer couldn’t keep a straight face for,

“Hmm” Michael said again, “What do you think Castiel?” He looked down at the fledgling on his lap who was still laughing at Lucifer, “Ok, hey” The fledglings all looked up at once, like meerkats, almost pleading with Michael not to ruin their fun. He smiled at them, “Try the feet” Lucifer let out a squeal that made them laugh so much Cas nearly fell over. Michael pulled him closer so Cas would only fall onto his chest instead,

“You traitor!!” Lucifer called over all the giggling fledglings but he, himself, was laughing too much. There was practically no venom in his words and he couldn’t hold a glare more than a second before he was laughing again. Michael sat back against the tree behind him and laughed loudly. Eventually the fledglings let the morningstar go after hot tears of mirth were running down his cheeks and he was gasping for air. He was laughing so much he still took a while to calm down. Once getting his breath back he looked to his two brothers who were also just calming down, “You think that’s funny?” He asked them. Castiel was still laughing,

“Tickwy Luci” He giggled. It made Michael’s smile widen more,

“Ain’t he precious?” He looked to the other archangel,

“Tickly Luci? I think Cassie is ticklish too, don’t you think?” Lucifer quickly grabbed onto Castiel’s foot, teasing his toes and the little angel squealed. Michael smiled,

“Oh no Cassie, the tickle monster has taken over Lucifer” He joked as Lucifer blew a raspberry on the sole of Castiel’s foot. Cas squealed and pulled out of Lucifer’s grip, moving closer to Michael for protection,

“No Luci” He said as Michael wrapped his snow white wings around the fledgling,

“No what?” Luci played dumb. He could just see Cas’ baby blue eyes staring at him through Michael’s wings,

“No tickwing” He replied. Lucifer paused and looked over his shoulder, Michael’s attention also seemed to shift in that direction. A couple apes were staring at them from the treeline, all keeping their distance,

“I didn’t realise we were this close to them” Lucifer said,

“We should move on” Michael replied,

“What dey?” Cas asked,

“They’re apes Cas” Michael looked at the child in his arms, “They aren’t finished yet but they will be man”

“Man” The fledgling echoed, having to laugh at the word again. It was so small and foriegn to him. Such an odd word but he had no idea what it would become. Balthazar was talking with Anna and hadn’t known anything was with them. That was until one ape grabbed his arm. He turned swiftly, jumping back from the creature, startled. The ape also jumped back, just as startled by the sudden movement,

“Easy Balthazar” Michael smiled, “They’re just curious of us” Though Michael was relaxed, Lucifer wasn’t so much, “What’s wrong brother?”

“It’s just, they’re still very primitive. I’m just worried in case they get aggressive near them”

“They aren’t particularly aggressive by nature brother, you can relax. We should move on now anyway” Michael was still holding Cas as he beckoned more fledglings to follow him with his wing. The others got up, eager to move away from these strange creatures that seemed brave enough to venture close to them. Cas looked over Michael’s shoulder at one and waved goodbye. The ape tilted its head before mimicking the gesture back at Cas. The fledgling made a giggle at that. Unfortunately, they weren’t meant to get so close to the man creatures. Their father had told them, he’d like them to develop without any aid including inheriting any behavioural traits from the angels. He wanted them to be independent from them. Michael stayed with the fledglings while Lucifer started to take them up to heaven again.


	8. Ice age

There was some talk about these man creatures. The fledglings got to see earth less and less with the spread of these creatures as they evolved. Lucifer couldn’t bare the sad puppy dog eyes he got from his younger brothers when he wasn’t allowed to bring them down there so he started using inventive ways to let the fledglings go back to earth and not run into man at the same time. With the help of Gabriel, they kept away from the apes’ natural habitats and heading to more inhospitable climates that the fledglings will be unaffected by. However the visits stopped completely during earth’s coldest ice age. Many fledglings caught colds in heaven nevermind going down to earth. Cas had luckily avoided it but his usual playmate Hannah had not. He was sitting in the fields of heaven, by himself, counting blades of grass. There was an added obstacle of snow this time, he had to dig to get to the grass. Eventually he noticed a shadow standing over him and he looked up to smile at his older brother,

“Hey Cassie, whatcha doin?” Gabriel crouched instead of sitting on the snow next to Cas. Cas plucked a single blade of grass and gave it to Gabriel with a pleased smile. Gabriel always smiled back, “Well, what are you doing without your hat? You’ll get a cold” Gabriel picked the boy up and put on a blue woollen hat that stopped just above his brow. Castiel smiled wider and cuddled into his brother’s warmth, “How about we do something to warm up” Gabriel didn’t have to look down at the fledgling to know he was in, as soon as he heard the young angel’s giggle, he knew. The pair were a formidable team. Gabriel could come up with a lot of good prank ideas and Cas was a very good lookout and distraction. His cute little laugh was enough to distract any archangel and alert Gabriel to the approach of heaven’s healer,

“Hey Castiel” Raphael smiled down at the fledgling, “What are you doing here?”

“See Gabwel?” Cas acted innocent,

“No, I haven’t seen him anywhere” Raphael picked him up, “Maybe we can find him together” As Raphael rounded the corner however, he knew just where Gabriel was. The door to his room was wide open and already he could see the mess, “Oh no” He wandered over, peering through the doorway to see everything he owns covered in piles of sand and glitter,

“Time to go” Gabriel zipped passed Raphael at lightning speed, grabbing Cas on the way and taking flight,

“GABRIEL!!!” Came the cry from behind them. Gabriel and Castiel both laughed as they made their escape, finding safety in the woodland bordering heaven’s fields.

“That was fun wasn’t it?” Gabriel smiled. Cas nodded enthusiastically. While hiding, they heard chatter from Anna and Uriel. As Cas looked over at them, Anna was cradling a sleepy Samandriel and Uriel had his arms folded,

“He’ll never walk if you keep babying him” Uriel muttered,

“But he is a baby” Anna rolled her eyes at him, “He’ll learn at his own pace. Give him time”

“Sammie” Cas waddled over to his little brother,

“Eh” Samandriel made a sleepy smile as Cas came over. He held out his hands to Cas, wanting him to pick him up. Cas was still too small but that didn’t stop him from trying. He pulled Samandriel onto his lap as he fell back on his bottom from the weight of the fledgling. Samandriel still held onto his bigger brother, smiling happily. He hasn’t had much energy recently since he’s been trying to keep warm, however it’s made him really clingy. He loved hugs recently, Uriel wouldn’t even go near him. Anna however was like a little mother, she loved her younger brothers and was just as protective of them as Balthazar. Unfortunately Balthazar was also dosed with the cold. Gabriel could tell she’d be leading her own garrison in the future and she’d make a great leader. Uriel however, not so much. He wasn’t a caring leader to one day help humanity. He was a sledgehammer, not really the helping hand father intended them to be. It was hard to tell what Cas or Samandriel could end up being, something really special Gabriel could only imagine. Before he even realised the other presence with them, a pair of strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him off balance,

“Gotcha” Raphael said,

“Ahh” Gabriel squawked in surprise,

“You’re gonna clean up the mess you made” Raphael said starting to drag his younger brother to his room,

“Run Cassie! Save yourself” Gabriel called out dramatically making the group of fledglings laugh. Raphael might have laughed too but he had to remain serious. He had to set an example in front of them. He just managed to hide his smile as he pulled Gabriel back to the sand covered room,

“How did you even get the sand? Any sand on earth is covered by several feet of snow”

“Not during summer. I’ve been stockpiling” Gabriel replied, grudgingly taking the broom from Raphael’s hand,

“Say goodbye to your stash, that’s going back down to earth once you’re finished” Gabriel sighed. It was fun while it lasted.


	9. Taking flight

Michael and Lucifer have been at odds recently. It was nothing any other angel could put their finger on, the two seemed to be avoiding each other and when they did meet up, their interactions were sarcastic and slightly hostile. Lucifer was pretty annoyed that they’ve given up earth to the man creatures. It used to be the perfect sandbox for the fledglings to learn but now, none were allowed to visit. Gabriel kept out of whatever conflict those two were having and so did Raphael. Balthazar was finally moulting his baby feathers. It was a long process and his nest was starting to look like a grey and white fluff ball with the amount of loose feathers trapped in the cloud. Anna was a little farther along in her moulting, the weight of her downy feathers had decreased a lot and her adult flight feathers were coming in. She was super excited, taking test flaps of her new rosy wings. The pigment of her wings were starting to darken into a scarlet at the ends of her flight feathers and as her wingspan grew to twice the size of her baby wings, she couldn’t help but show off. Hannah was fascinated by them,

“Pretty” She’d reach out to stroke the soft feathers. Hannah was close to four years old now, Cas was nearly five. By this point, many of the fledglings were starting to… well… fledge. The fields were becoming painted with loose feathers of every colour. Cas could identify each angel by the feathers they left behind. Gabriel found his fun teasing the older fledglings, his usual pranking was put on hold until this conflict between his two older brothers was resolved,

“Come on, it’s fine” He said, encouraging Anna out onto the ledge,

“Come on Anna!” Hannah and Cas cheered her on as she cautiously took another step out, swallowing her fear,

“You’ll catch me though right?” She asked Gabriel apprehensively,

“Relax” Gabriel ruffled her hair, “I won’t let you fall. Besides, Raphael is down there to make sure” He looked down to see the other archangel whose face was full of concentration, ready to grab her if she fell. Anna was still holding tightly to Gabriel’s arm as she took another step towards the edge. She took a deep breath to try and calm her beating heart,

“Anna!” Samandriel called up to his sister excited. He was sitting on the grass next to Cas, wiggling on the spot in anticipation. Anna gave a weak smile, finally loosening her grip on Gabriel and spreading her wings. With one more test flap, she leaned forward over the side before jerking back,

“No I can’t” She said quickly,

“Come on Anna” Balthazar called from the ground, “We’re all rooting for you here. You don’t want to let us down do you?” Gabriel rolled his eyes, a cheeky smile rolling across his face too before Anna was pushed forward. She gave a surprised yelp as she fell, closing her eyes and flinching as she neared the ground,

“Open your wings Anna” Gabriel called. As Anna’s wings opened, her descent slowed and as she angled them upwards, she took off into the sky,

“Whoo!!!” Her younger brothers and sister were cheering from the ground as she raised higher. She smiled and gave a large flap of her wings, raising her an extra couple of feet. Gabriel smiled then looked at the other fledglings with him,

“Who’s next?” He smirked. Anna couldn’t believe the feeling. She loved every minute of it. Her wings instinctively moved to keep her airborne as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the wind through her hair. When she opened her eyes a blur flew by her, as she followed it with her eyes, she realised her sister Hester had joined her. Hester was blonde with bright white wings that shone in the sun. As she flew gracefully in the air, the sun reflected off her wings in brilliant hues. The pair chased each other in the sky, having the time of their lives as a brother of theirs joined them. Ezekiel was a little wobbly in the air, almost clumsy. He was only a little farther along than Balthazar but both Hester and Anna took a hand each to steady him, the trio were joyously flying around as more and more brothers and sisters joined them. Castiel sat on the ground with Hannah and Samandriel. Hannah was in awe at all the outstretched wings, in various reds, blues, browns and whites. She wanted nothing more than to join them. Castiel also watched in awe but for a different reason. The fledged looked so carefree in the air. With this feeling, their grace started to mature. He could see it changing within each of them. The once dormant power within them was coming through, each like a beautiful blossoming soul. Anna’s shone bright with happiness,

“Pretty” He said,

“Yeah” Hannah agreed. Samandriel was watching them all too, wishing he could be up there with them. Balthazar’s wings twitched with anticipation. It wouldn’t be long until he’d be up there with them. Uriel was also an onlooker but for once, he wasn’t grumpy or sarcastic. He sat beside his younger brothers, even cradling Samandriel, too excited to be dull. His chocolate brown wings were curling around anyone close to him, he was so happy in that moment. The moment was ruined by shouting. Mostly, shouts in heaven were always directed towards Gabriel, accompanied by his laughter and running away but this was different. This was hostile, pure rageful. It scared all the fledglings, even the ones in the air. Some froze. Gabriel took off and caught one as they started to fall. Others flew off to hide from the terror or help others land. Castiel’s smile disappeared. The beautiful grace that shone through each angel, had retreated. Hiding in fear. They all scattered. Hannah was also shocked at how quickly everyone changed, from complete bliss to fear. She clung to the closest fledgling for comfort. Samandriel too got scared and snuggled closer to Uriel. Uriel looked to Balthazar, both at a loss on what just happened. The shouting continued in the distance. Raphael also flew into action, making sure all the fledglings were safely on the ground before cautiously going to check out the disturbance. Gabriel stayed with the petrified fledglings. Never has any angel they know ever had so much hate. The shouting seemed to shake everything up. Hannah clung to Castiel, scared. She didn’t understand what was happening. Neither did Castiel. He sought safety back at the nursery, leading his little sister to what he thought was a safe zone. It wasn’t a good move. It turns out, the shouting was coming from there. Michael and Lucifer were fighting. Hannah clung to Castiel more, so much so, it would leave a bruise. She looked up to him with fear in her eyes. Castiel didn’t like it either, he wanted to go and stop them but he was also afraid to get in the middle of it. They stood there, unnoticed until other fledglings, also seeking refuge in the nursery came along. Balthazar came over with Uriel and Samandriel. Balthazar led Castiel and Hannah away while Uriel was still holding Samandriel, trying to comfort the whimpering fledgling. The only other place they could think of to hide was the garden. The group rushed away from the disturbance and to the heart of heaven, the garden. It was such a beautiful place. It was far enough away that they could barely hear the shouting and the tranquillity helped ease their worries. As they entered, an elder angel approached them. Joshua.

“Hey” He said kneeling down to their level, “What’s the matter?” He could tell immediately something troubled the fledglings when they arrived. They aren’t normally allowed in there without an adult angel. It was clear on their faces that they were distressed,

“M-Mikey and Luci are fighting” Castiel mumbled,

“It’s scary” Hannah buried her face in Castiel’s arm. It broke the elder’s heart. Michael and Lucifer are some of the most caring angels in heaven. They loved and cared for the fledglings so for them to start seeming scary to them means it must be serious,

“Come on in” Joshua invited the fledglings into the garden. As they hid out there, it became apparent that they weren’t the only ones who thought to come here. Many other fledglings sought refuge. Anna included. She came over to the group, wrapping her large wingspan around them. Hannah especially curled close to her. Meanwhile the other two archangels were trying to round all the fledglings up. It didn’t help that Michael and Lucifer were still shouting at each other. Gabriel finally worked up the courage to approach them, still cautious,

“Brothers” He said calmly. His low voice was just barely heard by Michael under all the shouting. He turned to see the youngest archangel who seemed a little scared to approach them. Gabriel’s wings were drooping and he wasn’t giving eye contact. He looked like he was a fledgling all over again and it snapped both brothers out of their rage. Michael approached Gabriel, pulling him into a hug,

“I’m sorry Gabriel” He whispered.


	10. Be strong Castiel

The brothers went back to avoiding each other but just like before, it wouldn’t be long until the tension boils over and they both explode. Neither were acting themselves anymore and it made the fledglings nervous. Gabriel hated it especially. It’s almost just as bad as shouting at each other, nothing was being solved. Hannah, Castiel, Samandriel and Balthazar were playing in the fields again. Anna and the other fledglings that had started flying weren’t seen much of now. Now that they’ve matured, they must learn to control their grace. That means training and lots of it. Though they’re still young and still live in the nursery, Michael has stopped treating them like kids. Though originally exciting being seen as adults, the young fledglings quickly realised that adulthood sucks. All work and no play. Lucifer kept giving Michael sharp looks from a distance for this policy. Finally, Michael gave them a break. All the fledglings went back to the nursery, wanting to play with their younger siblings but finding no energy to do so. Anna wandered tiredly over to the group,

“Anna” Samandriel hugged her. She smiled, eyes drooping. Hannah and Castiel could both tell she was too tired to play but they hugged her anyway, just happy to actually see her today. Balthazar was a lot more reluctant to learn to fly now though he could hardly stop himself from moulting or help himself check out his growing wingspan. Anna would have fallen asleep where she sat if it weren’t for Balthazar leading her back to her room. Hannah and Castiel had a hand each and were dragging her along. Once there, Balthazar took Samandriel off Anna and left her alone to sleep. As they left, Gabriel walked with them. He was holding a scroll, still stuck learning his Hebrew but he rolled it up to give them his attention,

“Hey” He smiled at them, “How are you?”

“Ok” Castiel walked on, trying to keep pace with the archangel before looking back up at him,

“We never see Anna anymore” Hannah whined,

“I know. Not the best motivator either hey Zar?” He nudged Balthazar who also smirked,

“Not really”

“Don’t worry, it’ll get easier” The messenger seemed to bite his tongue. Castiel couldn’t help but feel the next word that would have come from his mouth was ‘hopefully’.

“It all seems so sudden” Balthazar said, “Other fledglings in training before weren’t worked this hard”

“Yeah but we had time then” Gabriel said, “Man is growing fast and now I guess we have to be ready to… defend them” Unknown to the angels around him, Castiel’s dreams have been coming back. Not the nightmares but definitely strange dreams about a peculiar creature. It had light brown hair on the top of his head and shorter hair along its jawline. It had two grass green eyes and stood upright on two legs. This creature though was not threatening and Castiel couldn’t help but wonder if this is what man is. As he looked up at Gabriel again, the archangel just managed to catch the image, the fledgling being too young to hide much from him. He pondered how the fledgling had any idea of how humans would look. Judging by the human’s fashion sense of plaid and jeans, clearly a more advanced human that won’t be around for a few thousand years.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Balthazar smirked at him,

“I am. I’m just getting some fresh air” Gabriel smiled, “Wanna learn Hebrew with me?” All the fledglings had the same look and Gabriel just smiled wider, “Go play. I need to work” The group went back to the fields but Gabriel didn’t head to his room to work. He stayed under a tree, away from where the archangels stayed. The fighting was taking its toll on the sunny archangel.

As the rest of the fledglings all slept, Castiel was sitting awake, thinking about his older brothers. He couldn’t help but feel the escalation of their fights and it worried him. Sometimes they’d have to hide in the garden to get away from it. As he was thinking, he heard the door to his room creak open and he lay down pretending to be asleep as he felt a presence peek their head in then leave. Curious, Castiel snuck out of his bed to follow the figure. He wandered the halls of the nursery after a six winged figure. The figure was checking on each of them, looking through every door and sighing on seeing them peacefully sleeping. The question was, why wasn’t he? As he reached him, he realised it was Gabriel. What was Gabriel doing up so late? The archangel’s wings were drooping and he seemed very unhappy. As Cas wandered on silently after him, he realised that he was going to the edge of heaven. The archangel took one more look back at home and finally noticed the young fledgling following him,

“Cassie, what are you doing up?” He asked, getting down on his level,

“I was following you” Castiel replied, “What are you doing?”

“I’m just going to go away for a little while” Gabriel said.

“Where to?”

“To earth”

“Can I come?”

“No, you need to stay here” He didn’t want to lie to the fledgling but he also didn’t want to mention him leaving,

“When will you be back?”

“...I don’t know yet...”

“You aren’t planning on coming back are you?” Castiel looked up at Gabriel with sad puppy dog eyes. Gabriel swears that father had gotten the idea of puppies from this kid,

“I can’t stay here” Gabriel said, lowering his head,

“But if you go, what about Michael and Lucifer?” Gabriel put his hands on both of Castiel’s shoulders,

“Castiel, you are strong. I know you’re going to take good care of your younger brothers and sisters, can you do that for me? Be strong?” Cas nodded, “Good”

“I don’t want you to go” Cas hugged Gabriel tightly, not really planning on letting go,

“I’ll miss you too” Gabriel couldn’t hold back the tears as a couple darted down his cheeks. He kissed the top of his brother’s head, burying his face in his dark hair, “But I can’t be here. Not for what’s to come” Cas finally parted from Gabriel,

“What will come?” He asked,

“Listen, I’m going to need you to be brave ok? Take care of your brothers and sisters. Promise me?”

“Gabriel, you’re scaring me. What’s going to happen?”

“I need to hear you promise. Promise you’ll protect them”

“I promise” Cas replied. Gabriel smiled. It was a sad smile and his cheeks were damp now as yet more tears streamed down them,

“Good. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll see you down on earth” Gabriel pulled Castiel in for one last hug, possibly the last hug he’d ever give the fledgling, “Goodbye Castiel” A large fresh tear left Castiel’s eye,

“Goodbye Gabriel” Gabriel took off into the night and Cas stood on the edge of heaven, watching him leave even long after he had disappeared from view. Castiel’s large black wings wrapped around him comfortingly as he stifled a whimper leaving his throat. He sat down and thought over exactly what Gabriel had told him. He couldn’t understand it yet but he knew one thing, he had to be brave. Act like everything was ok, for his siblings. But as the thought wandered into his head, more tears left his eyes, “I love you Gabriel” He whispered into the wind. He wandered back to his room, wings drooping and tears running down his cheeks. He went back to his nest and curled up in his blankets. His body shuddered as he wanted nothing more than to sob but it was late and he was worried that he’d wake someone. As he thought that, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Quickly wiping away the tears, he turned to see Samandriel, holding his blanket close. Cas could see his cheeks glisten in the low light,

“I had a bad dream” Samandriel whispered, “Can I sleep with you?” Cas gave a smile and made room for Samandriel,

“Of course Sammie” Samandriel climbed in and put his blanket over him. Cas placed a comforting wing over him as he drifted off. Cas, though still heartbroken over Gabriel leaving, felt content for now. Because despite what’s happening with his older brothers, his younger siblings will still be here. And he will always love and protect them just as he promised Gabriel.


	11. Hide and seek

Balthazar had fledged and was now in training with Anna, Uriel and many others. Castiel’s wings were also growing. He too wouldn’t be long until he started flying. Samandriel made sure to spend as much time as he could with his brother, knowing once Castiel starts his training, he’d not see much of him anymore. Castiel took his younger brother and sister to the farther reaches of the fields, distracting them with hide and seek in the woodlands every time Michael and Lucifer were fighting.

Hannah and Samandriel were joined by Rachel and Hael. Since Uriel left, they were short on their little group. Each were happily running in and out of the trees excitedly as Castiel counted. He heard silence around him as he opened his eyes to look for them. His eyes scanned the fields first, looking for Hael’s dark green camouflage. Instead he noticed Lucifer watching him. Lucifer wasn’t in the best of moods today and probably wouldn’t be joining in, instead he watched Cas from a distance. Cas wandered away, deeper into the woodland where he didn’t feel eyes burning into the back of his head. Hael was camouflaging Hannah’s ice blue wings, Cas just managing to catch a small giggle as he passed them. He gave his own secret smile. Truth was, he’d seen the pair almost immediately but he passed over them. Instead he stopped in the middle. He could see Samandriel fidgeting close by, unable to keep still but what he couldn’t see was Rachel. He thought she’d be easier since she has white wings like Michael. As he scanned the area, he heard movement above him and when he went to look up, the fledgling had divebombed him from the tree branches. She landed heavily on top of him, causing him to let out a,

“Oof” As soon as that happened, the other fledglings ambushed him, rushing out of their hiding spots to add to the growing dogpile on him, “Ah” He struggled to wiggle out underneath them. Hael grabbed both his wrists and Hannah grabbed his feet. Rachel was still lying over his stomach as he squirmed to get away. He had to admit, they laid a perfectly good trap. He fought for his hands but Hael was still slightly bigger than him and definitely stronger. Hannah took advantage of her position and started tapping at the soles of his feet. He realised pretty quickly what they were planning to do. They were testing him. It had been a while since he was put in this situation and Rachel and Samandriel were prodding and poking at his sides to see what worked. Hannah suddenly dragged her nails down his soles making him jump. His tried to keep his mouth shut but that didn’t stop the smile forming on his face, “Don’t” He used a warning tone, using far more self control than he thought he had,

“Don’t what Cassie?” Rachel teased, “Are you ticklish?” She moved her hand up to his exposed armpit, a laugh forced its way through his tightly shut lips. He shifted as much as he could away from her but he couldn’t move far thanks to Hael and Hannah. Samandriel had a huge mischievous smile on his face once his brother’s weak spot was revealed. He attacked the other one immediately. Cas laughed loudly, moving away from Samandriel now, closer to Rachel,

“No!” He cried out, “Nohot there!!”

“Ok, how about here?” Rachel dug into his sides. He shut his mouth again but Rachel saw the cringe on his face that he was holding back more laughter. He tried again to free his hands but Hael held on. Rachel moved on to his stomach, reaching underneath his robe to get at bare skin which made it even worse. He managed to unbalance Hannah on his legs but she caught them again before he had a chance to push off the ground. His laughing grew loud enough to draw attention from others but nobody interfered. Balthazar had a break. He was tired and didn’t have the energy to play but when he heard shrieks of laughter that sounded like Castiel, it was something he needed to see. He walked over to see him being held down by four fledglings,

“Balthazar!” Castiel called over on seeing him, “Little help?” Balthazar couldn’t help but smile. His little brother asking him for help,

“Remember all those times you gave me the run-around and scared me half to death?” He asked,

“I’m sorry!” Cas just managed to get out through fits of laughter,

“Give him hell girls” Balthazar said, walking back out of view and back to his room smugly,

“No! Please! Come back!” Castiel called after him. Castiel could hear Balthazar’s evil laugh as he wandered off. Rachel, Samandriel, Hael and Hannah were all laughing with Castiel as they found ever more creative ways in continuing the tickle torture. Castiel made a sudden shriek as Samandriel found a particular weak spot on Cas’ ribs,

“Hey Cassie, how many ribs do you have?” Rachel asked as she pulled up the top half of his clothing to reveal his stomach and ribs. She playfully started from the top, dragging her nails down each one, slowly counting them. He let out more laughing, squirming in a futile effort to free himself, “Now Cas, you’re making me lose count” She said starting again. He kept laughing until yet another squeal left him, “There it is” She found his weakness on his second last rib as she tickled in between his last two ribs,

“NO STOP!!” Cas was now crying with laughter and Hannah had practically stopped all torture to watch him. She loved seeing him so happy, he hasn’t been like this since Gabriel had left. Though he tried to hide it, it was clear to her that it bothered him. This was long overdue.

“You want us to stop?” Hael asked,

“YES PLEASE!!!”

“Say we’re the best sisters in the world” She said,

“WHAT??? NOHOHO!!!”

“Do it or we go in for the kill” Castiel didn’t answer her and Hael put on an evil smile and got Samandriel to hold Castiel’s wrists, “Alright, you wanna play it that way?” She went for his wings. The sensitive wings were the most ticklish place on him. He screamed. He was able to free his hands from Samandriel but he wasn’t able to defend himself from both sisters at once. Rachel grabbed his wrists, letting Hael continue her attack. His wings flopped about uselessly,

“OK!! OK!! YOU WIN!”

“Say it” Hael said, putting more pressure on his wing making him laugh more,

“YOU ARE THEHE BEHEST SISTERS IN THE WORLD!! NOW LET ME GO!!”

“Not yet, what about Samandriel? Is he not your favourite little brother?” Rachel said,

“YES, NOW LET ME GO!!” Finally the torture was over and Castiel could breath again. He curled into a ball, still laughing, trying to calm down. His wings came up to protect him from any more attacks, “I’m not going to be it for hide and seek again” He said once he could speak again. Samandriel laughed and looked at his sisters who also smiled at him.


	12. Heaven and Hell

The fighting was very loud this time. Not even Castiel’s usual tricks could block them out this time. Hannah held Samandriel close when he was starting to get upset. Cas put his wing around the pair and started to lead them to the garden, it was still a safe haven and Joshua always welcomed them. Rachel and Hael were also becoming distressed and although they weren’t much older than him, Cas still took them with him to the garden. Joshua was expecting them, he knew how bad the fighting was and invited them in. As they got further into the garden, they heard Michael and Lucifer’s fighting less and less and they settled down. Samandriel was still upset,

“Hey Sammie” Castiel said, looking over Hannah’s shoulder at him. She was holding their younger brother to her hip so his head peeked out over her shoulder back at him, “You alright?”

“Why do they have to fight?” Samandriel asked,

“I don’t know” Cas admitted, “But whatever it is, they’ll sort it out. They have to”

“What if they don’t?”

“They will. They live together, they have to”

“Unless someone leaves again” Samandriel mumbled, burying his face in Hannah’s shoulder. She started rubbing soothing circles in his back, “Like Gabriel” Cas hesitated. He didn’t know how to respond or what to distract him with. Rachel came over,

“We’ll never leave Sammie” She said, “We’ll always be there for you” Hael too wandered over,

“Yeah we aren’t going anywhere, right Cassie?” Castiel smiled,

“Yeah, you’ll always have us”

“What about when you start training?”

“I’ll still see you afterwards and you can still sleep next to me when you have nightmares”

“Promise?”

“I promise” It seems Castiel has been making a lot of promises but intended to keep every one. So far he was being brave for them as Gabriel told him to be and he was there for Sammie and Hannah as Balthazar had told him when he started training. Suddenly there was a huge noise that rippled through heaven, even reaching the garden. It shook everything up and caused Samandriel to panic,

“What was that?” He asked, tears starting to leak from his eyes as his heart rate increased,

“It’s ok Sammie, you’re fine” Hannah said, still trying to calm him down. Another bang shot through heaven. Joshua came over to them,

“What is going on?” Cas asked him,

“I do not know” He said, “Stay here, I’ll check” A bang sounded right near them. When Castiel turned, he saw a huge crater and on looking into it, he saw an older brother of his, Elijah. He was lying there, gravely injured, his grace slowly burning within him. His eyes looked to Castiel lazily before his mouth moved trying to say something. Castiel furrowed his eyebrows, too scared to go any closer. He couldn’t take his eyes off the blood on his chest and as his eyes moved to Elijah’s face, there was even more of it. He’d never seen so much blood, nor see such violence enacted on a brother of his. He looked back at Elijah in shock,

“Run” Elijah finally called out before his wings turned to ash and his body went limp. He turned to everyone else. Hael and Rachel were also there and Hannah was wandering over with Samandriel. Castiel stopped them, raising his wing to block their view, 

“We need to go” He said,

“Where?” Hannah asked,

“I don’t know, away from here” There was a thud behind them and another brother of theirs, Kaleb, had landed near them with his knife poised. Elijah’s blood was dripping from it and he had a look in his eyes that lusted for more, “Run” Castiel pushed his sisters in a direction and everyone took off. As they ran out of the garden, they realised they had run into a battleground. Nowhere looked safe. This must have been what Gabriel was worried about, “This way” Castiel led everyone around through the woodlands to try and lose their attacker. He rushed to the nursery, hoping that there were angels on their side to defend it but he was wrong. The nursery was under attack just like everywhere else. Hannah tripped over in her haste and had dropped Samandriel. In a panic, Samandriel took off running in the direction of some other fledglings but he was running out into the open, in the middle of the battle ground, “Sammie!” Castiel chased after him, grabbing him and pulling him close to his chest just in time to stop him from being squashed as another angel fell to the ground and died. He hugged Samandriel close, covering his head and body with his large black wings. Castiel looked around him, the carnage was everywhere. His brothers and sisters were slaughtering each other. There were fires and blood as grace exploded around him. He walked back to the woodland with Sammie under his wings, shielding him from the horrific view whilst trying to avoid other angels fighting around him. He could hear Samandriel crying under the battle cries and screaming. Once making it back to the others, Castiel looked out over the field again and in that moment, heaven looked like hell.


	13. Cliff hanger

All the fledglings were panicking. They flocked together on instinct, hoping the numbers would save them but it just served as entertainment for the attacking angels that cut into the flock, scattering it across the fields. Hannah, Hael, Rachel and Castiel were herded to the trees whereas Samandriel was stuck in the group that was being brought somewhere else. Castiel broke from his group to reach him, an angel tried to swoop down and grab him while he was on his own but he ducked under his grasp. As he reached the group, he realised they were headed towards the canyon. Castiel tried to grab Samandriel and get out but he was too far in front of him,

“Sammie!” Cas called to him as he reached the edge. Samandriel looked around for anything, he was tired and petrified. The young angel stood on the edge quivering. He looked up and saw an angel starting to swoop. He panicked and as more fledglings rushed to a halt at the edge, he was accidentally pushed closer, his arms flailing as he tried to balance precariously on the edge. His foot slipped off the edge but Cas grabbed him around the waist, pulling him back. They both fell back onto the grass and Cas gave a sigh. It wasn't over though. More fledglings were reaching the edge and some were falling. The older ones possibly tried to glide across but were quickly grabbed by more angels.

“What do we do?” Samandriel sobbed,

“Just stay calm ok? I'll get us out of here, hang on” Cas looked for a way to exit the crowd that continued to push them closer to the edge. The crowd continued to grow as the fledglings were all herded into a large crowd again. This was all being done by two or three angels but none of the fledglings had any idea on how to defend themselves. They were getting scoped up and taken away to who knows where. Some where falling into the canyon and a couple even jumped, wanting to take their chances with their own underdeveloped wings than the angels that chased them.

“Cassie?” Cas looked over and Rachel and Hael were there with Hannah, “Sammie!” Hannah leaned over to see them. When she did, an angel swooped by, making her lose her footing. Castiel grabbed her hand as she fell down but lost his own footing. As they tumbled, he latched on to the canyon wall, his free hand scraped for a hold and his feet clung to the rocks. His body was being painfully pulled down with catching the weight of the falling fledgling and his skin was scraped and bleeding from the friction with the wall,

“Hannah! Cassie!” Rachel, Hael and Samandriel were all at the top, staring down at them. He saw a shadow swooping down along the cliff face. The dark shadows showed outstretched wings and hands ready to grab them. Cas couldn’t even do anything to stop them, his grip was weakening on the cliff. When he craned his neck to look over, he saw rosy wings. The angel grabbed Hannah and another took Castiel before they fell,

“Castiel, thank goodness you’re ok” Cas looked up and he was in the arms of his brother Balthazar. He gave a huge sigh of relief. His grip was strained to a point it felt weird even now that he wasn't holding anything. Anna had Hannah too. They took the fledglings back up again,

“Listen, go to the garden” Anna instructed, “Joshua is still there evacuating the other fledglings”

“What about you?” Hannah asked,

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll come and find you once it’s over ok?” Balthazar looked to Castiel, “You keep a watch on them now” Cas nodded. Immediately the pair flew off to stop more fledglings from falling, fighting off the ones after them to the best of their abilities. They were still young and had no experience. Cas led the group around the battle using the woodlands again, keeping an eye out for any of the angels that chased them. It was hard to tell who was on their side. As they made it to the garden, Joshua was indeed still there. He had a portal to earth open in the centre of the garden and he was shepherding fledglings through, keeping a count of everyone who went in. Cas led them all through the portal and all of them landed on a hillside. Throughout the countryside, various fledglings were scattered far and wide. Above them, the skies were alive with thunder and lightning and if they listened close enough, they could still hear the screams. Samandriel was still clinging to Castiel, burying his face in his chest, crying openly. Cas just hugged him back, not knowing what else to do. Hannah was crying too. In fact, all of them were. Cas folded his wings around everybody, Rachel and Hael stretching their wings out too to create a tent of warmth for them all. Rachel was currently cradling Hannah. The thunder around them was so loud, they couldn’t even hear footsteps approaching them. That was until the figure appeared to them. The group backed away from this creature. Though it stood on two legs like them, it wasn’t an angel. Castiel thought it bore a resemblance to the humans in his dreams.

“It’s ok” The creature said, “I won’t hurt you” He spoke Hebrew, something none of the fledglings could understand,

“What did he say?” Hannah looked to her older siblings. Cas tilted his head at the man. He had long greying hair and beard and his eyes were brown and gentle. He did not appear threatening to them and he didn’t approach them when they backed away,

“H-huumaan?” Castiel sounded out in Hebrew,

“Yes, you understand?” He asked slowly, “Little?”

“Little” Cas replied. Hael and Rachel looked at Castiel like he had two heads,

“How are you doing that?” They asked, still speaking Enochian,

“Gabriel taught me some” Castiel told them,

“I can keep you safe” The man continued in Hebrew. He pointed to the sky, “Storm, not safe” Cas looked to his siblings. He did want to keep them safe but how could he trust this man,

“What does he want?” Rachel asked,

“He wants to take us somewhere safe” He said, “Away from the sky” The man gestured to follow him as he turned in the direction he was going to go,

“Can we trust him?” Rachel asked,

“Well, we can’t really trust the angels” Hael said, “We don’t know which are on our side” The group finally got up and decided to follow the man. He smiled warmly at them and led them through the forest until they came to a structure. The fledglings all looked to each other. The structure wasn’t naturally occurring. It was made out of the same material as the trees but it looked different. Samandriel was still clinging to Castiel and hadn’t even looked up at the man. The man opened the door to his house, inviting them in,

“Are we sure?” Rachel asked, “For all we know he could be trying to steal us”

“He worships dad, he wouldn’t harm us” Hael said taking her hand and leading her through. Castiel rubbed his sore shoulder a little before he took Hannah and led her in too. It was warmer in the house than out. It was a large room with him, seemingly living on his own,

“Welcome” He said,

“Th-thank you” Castiel said. Gabriel had always told him the best things to start learning in a new language were greetings and manners. The fledglings all huddled together in the corner. Cas noticed Sam’s iron grip weakening and as he looked down, the little fledgling was asleep. He smiled down at him, moving his wing to show his sisters. Hannah was resting on Rachel’s arm and she gave a tired smile. It was clear she’d be falling asleep too. The man brought blankets over to them,

“My name is Adam” He said, “What’s yours?” Castiel tilted his head. The man pointed to himself, “Adam” He repeated. Cas pointed to himself,

“Castiel” He said. His sisters all understood that too and introduced themselves,

“Where did you come from?” Cas tried hard to understand Adam and Adam did his best to talk slow and use as much hand gestures as he could. Eventually it clicked what he was asking and Cas pointed up. The man looked up, “Sky?” He asked. Castiel shook his head and pointed up again, “Heaven?” Cas nodded, “Did the storm bring you down here?”

“Ff-fighting” Castiel said,

“Fighting, causing the storm?” Cas nodded, “Why are they fighting?” Cas shrugged, shaking his head, “And you? Did you fall? Did the fighting make you fall?” He asked slowly. Cas didn’t know what ‘fall’ meant in his language, “Lost?” The man put his hands over his eyes as a gesture, Cas mimicked the gesture,

“Hiding” Cas replied,

“Hiding? From what?”

“Bad”

“What bad?” Adam couldn’t imagine any bad in heaven. It was where God was and his angels, for young kids to think of bad up there, he had to wonder what was going on. Cas looked over his sisters, practically all of them were asleep now. Rachel trying to fight sleep in case the man wasn’t as nice as Hael believed. Castiel moved his wing to reveal Samandriel to Adam and show the area of torn feathers across his bronze brown wings from when the angels split him away from them. Adam put his hand over his mouth, his face contorting in sympathy and shock. Cas pulled his wing back around Samandriel to keep him warm. He rubbed his shoulder again. It was burning with pain since catching Hannah but it would numb every now and then. The exhaustion hit Cas like a bag of bricks. Everyone else was asleep by now and Adam could tell he was fighting sleep so he stopped asking questions and left them be. Cas fell asleep not long after.


	14. The storm rages on

Cas woke up as lightning struck near them. Everyone else was still asleep and as he took a peek out the door, he noticed a larger figure heading their way. He had his knife drawn. Cas gasped, rushing to wake up his siblings,

“Get up” He said as they all groaned, still sleepy, “We need to go now”

“What’s wrong?”

“They’re here” At the fledgling’s panic, Adam walked in,

“Castiel?” He asked, “What’s wrong?” Cas pointed to the door, unable to do much more. It took him a couple seconds to get the Hebrew back in his mind,

“Bad” He said. Hael was holding Samandriel close while Hannah stayed at Rachel’s side,

“There’s a back door” He pointed to the other side of the house, “I’ll distract him” There was loud knocking on the door and enochian yelling that only the fledglings could understand. They rushed out the back while he burst in the front. Adam blocked his path as best he could, buying them a couple minutes. The rain had started making the ground wet and slippery. As they rushed over the mud, many times they fell into it, completely covering themselves in muck. Castiel’s wings were soaked in it, making them feel heavy. The storm clouds also made everything so dark and so the angel ran right past them when Cas lifted a browny black wing to disguise them. It worked and they went uphill towards the mountains. They were all becoming cold and tired but they needed shelter so the best place to look were the cliff sides. Cas kept an eagle eyed watch while Hael led their younger siblings up the hills. Castiel brought up the rear as Hannah started to fall behind. She was exhausted, she’d only managed to get a little sleep at Adam’s house before having to run again. Cas walked with her,

“You ok?” He asked,

“No” Hannah replied, “I’m worried about everyone. Anna, Balthazar, Uriel. What if we never see them again?” She looked up with sad eyes that could break any heart,

“They’ll be ok. They’re smart, they know how to hide if they need to” Cas replied, “Let’s focus on hiding ourselves and once this is all over, we can go home and see them again”

“Ok” She replied, going to catch up with Rachel and Hael. Once getting to the cliffs, they could see caves etched into the bottom. While inspecting these, a familiar face popped out at them,

“Sophia” Hael went over to hug her,

“Hael, you made it” She said, “Hannah” She reached down to hug the exhausted fledgling, “Come inside, all of you” She said. Upon entering, there were even more fledglings inside. Ezekiel was there with Anael, Jonah and Sara. They were huddled in a corner. Cas followed Hael and Sophia before plopping down on the cold stone ground. He was exhausted and though he’d tried to ignore it, his shoulder still hurt from catching Hannah. Now that he was soaked through and covered in muck, it seemed to be much worse. The scratches he’d received from the cliff had healed now. He sighed, leaning back against the cave wall. He felt safer. Sophia and Ezekiel were both going through training like Anna and Balthazar so they were more equipped to protect everyone. Better than he could. Ezekiel went and sat beside him,

“You ok?” He asked him,

“I’ve been better” Cas replied giving a weak smile, “Just wish this would all be over”

“Yeah, I know what you mean” Ezekiel put his hand on Cas’ shoulder who instantly tensed up. Cas took a breath but it had to be his bad shoulder that Ezekiel touched, “Are you hurt?” He asked, taking his hand away. Cas was quiet. He wanted to sleep and his eyes were already closing, “Hey, did Cas get hurt?” He asked about,

“I didn’t see him get hurt” Samandriel’s small voice called over from the other side of the cave,

“He caught Hannah while falling and the canyon wall” Hael said, “He might have hurt it then. He's definitely got a few scrapes from it” When Ezekiel looked back though, the pain was gone from Castiel’s face. Cas was asleep, completely. He decided not to wake him and instead sat in silence next to him. Hannah had already fallen asleep too and Rachel not long after that. The fledglings were exhausted. Jonah and Sara were still young, about Samandriel’s age. The three of them were huddled together, talking quietly to not wake their older siblings. Hael was with Sophia keeping watch at the exit of the cave. Cas started to shiver in his sleep, since he was soaked through and in the direct path of a breeze from the cave entrance, he had no protection from the cold. Not even his wings as they were too wet. Ezekiel extended his brown wings with speckled gold feathers across him, hoping he won’t get sick. The storm still raged on above them, telling them the fighting still hasn’t stopped. The battle raged on with no end in sight and no hope for the fledglings to feel safe again. Night fell and day broke unnoticed by the fledglings who spent all their time in the cave. More found it and hunkered down with them. By midday, the storm was starting to clear. The skies were becoming clearer and the rain was letting up. Despite that, thunder still rumbled across the landscape. Cas woke up, Ezekiel was still keeping him warm but he had fallen asleep a while ago. Around the cave he noticed some new fledglings. Many of them were asleep too and as he looked to the entrance, Hael and Sophia were still there, finally falling asleep. Careful not to wake Ezekiel, he slipped away to keep watch at the entrance. He looked up at the sky and there was a glimmer of hope in his eye as the clouds were starting to lighten up. It meant the battle’s pace was definitely slowing down. As he wandered to the entrance to peek out, hands reached in and grabbed him, pulling him out and pushing him against a tree. Castiel made a small yelp in surprise which was heard by Hael. Currently, the angel was focused on Castiel, not knowing how many fledglings were actually there. Hael quietly started to wake Sophia while Castiel was trying to avoid the angel’s blade. The angel pushed Cas back down a steep slope and Cas started to roll, his wings flapped trying to balance himself but only causing him to roll faster, hitting his sore shoulder on a rock, smacking into trees until he eventually landed on flatter ground. He lay there for a while, holding his shoulder, fighting back tears,

“CASSIE!!!” Castiel looked up as Rachel was dragging Hannah away, “CASSIE!!” She screamed down to him. Samandriel was crying out to him in Hael’s arms too. The fledglings all poured out of the cave in every direction which seemed to work in their favour. The angel couldn’t pick a single target, everyone was moving too fast and he was quickly distracted. Cas picked himself up, holding his shoulder, trying desperately to locate Hannah and Samandriel in the crowd. The slope he had fallen down was too steep for any fledgling to run down so instead they had gone left of the cave or right, split in half. The angel turned to the only victim he could catch, Castiel. On seeing the look in his eyes, Castiel gasped, running as fast as his legs could carry him. His wings also flapped frantically, trying whatever tricks he can to outmaneuver the older angel. He peered over his shoulder only to see the angel gaining on him before he ran into the arms of another angel. Castiel nearly screamed, he struggled in his captor’s grasp,

“Let me go!” He cried out, “Let me go!!”

“Castiel” The voice said calmly. He looked up at the angel and realised he was looking at Lucifer. But he looked different. He was injured, badly. His face was brutally beat up and his armour was caked in blood. He still held the fledgling securely as the other angel caught up, he bent down to his level trying to calm him. It didn’t help that the one who had attacked him was standing next to them,

“Lucifer” The angel breathed out, quite exhilarated by the hunt but breathless from running,

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked the angel sternly, “The fledglings are our future, they are who we’re fighting for but you’ve been hunting them down while we’ve fought?”

“No, I was…” The angel started, fear rising up in him, “I was trying to help” Lucifer wiped a treacle of blood running down Castiel’s forehead with his thumb and showed it to the angel,

“You call this help?” He got up suddenly, his ice blue wings widened slightly in an aggressive display. The angel jumped back, shrinking a little at the expression. Castiel was even scared. Lightning struck near them and as the light faded, Castiel could see Michael standing there, decorated in armour and sword drawn. Though Lucifer was also wearing armour, it wasn’t quite as impressive as the first archangel’s. Lucifer sighed, lowering his wings and stepping away from his soldier. Instead he turned to his older brother, “Michael” He said,

“Lucifer” Michael replied. He too had a couple scars across his face from the fighting,

“It didn’t need to be like this. All I asked was that you’d stand with me. None of this violence was necessary”

“I could never turn against father”

“Neither could I” Lucifer said, “That’s not what I was doing. I just wanted the fledglings to grow up with more importance than that. Not having to forfeit their time with their siblings. Instead now they have to sacrifice for the humans. Don’t you get it? You aren’t teaching them to be angels, you are turning them into drones”

“As opposed to what you’ve done?” Michael asked, taking a step forward, “Do you have any idea how many we’ve lost? All because of the fighting and your soldiers. In fact, the very creatures you despise were there protecting the fledglings from you” Lucifer lowered his head, “I’m sorry brother but I have to stop this now. This ends. One way or another” Michael raised his sword and Lucifer unsheathed his,

“Then I’m sorry Michael, for what I have to do” He said. Once the pair started fighting, Castiel ran off. At first it was just to get away from the fighting but he became aware of a tail. As he turned around, Lucifer’s soldier was there. He grabbed him, pushing him against a tree and he raised his knife. Cas raised his arms over his face and turned away, tears rolling down his already damp cheeks as he prepared himself for the pain. It didn’t come. When he looked back, the angel was frozen in place, he slowly dropped Castiel before his grace burned up within him. As his lifeless body fell to the ground, Castiel looked up at the figure that had just saved him,

“Gabriel” Castiel ran to his older brother who got down and hugged him close,

“It’s ok Cassie” He said as Cas became incapable of holding in his sobbing, “Let it out, I’m here. Did he hurt you?” Gabriel took a look over Cas, landing on his shoulder. Cas gave a hiss in pain before it subsided when Gabriel healed it,

“I tried to be brave” Cas finally spoke, “I really tried”

“And you were” Gabriel gave him a smile, “You were very brave and you took care of your brother and your sisters”

“But I don’t even know where they are?” Cas said. Gabriel wiped the tears away with his thumb,

“They’re closer than you think” He said,

“Cassie!!” Castiel looked up to see Hannah rushing through the woodland to meet him, followed by Samandriel and Rachel. Cas gave a relieved sigh and hugged them close. When he turned back to Gabriel, Gabriel was gone. He looked around but there was no sign. It was just them. The clouds have cleared and sun shone through the trees, drying up the puddles and mud. The mud on their clothes and face had also dried up and their wings were practically caked in muck but for now it didn’t matter. They were safe. It was over.


	15. Paradise?

Castiel didn’t sleep. He lay awake in his nest. Samandriel tossed and turned that night next to Cas, whimpering gently in his sleep. Cas didn’t wake him but instead put his wing around him and rubbed his back gently. He found himself humming to the four year old, songs Gabriel used to sing to him. Samandriel’s moving started to quiet down. Castiel heard his door creak open and in walked a very tired Hannah. She stood by the door for a while, wondering whether she should come in or not. Cas tilted his head at her, wondering why she just stood there. It wasn’t until he noticed the tear tracks across her cheeks that he understood her hesitance and his gaze softened,

“Come in Hannah” He said gently, trying not to wake Samandriel. She finally approached him and he could see her bloodshot eyes and drooping wings, “What’s the matter?”

“I-” She started, trying not to choke up, “I can’t sleep” She looked down at her feet, “Can I…” She trailed off, finding the floor really interesting all of a sudden,

“Of course” Cas said, moving to give her some room. She gave a weak smile before climbing in next to Cas and Sam. Sam woke up momentarily to acknowledge Hannah getting in before promptly falling back asleep. All three were exhausted by their ordeal. Cas pulled his wing over the pair next to him and waited until he heard Hannah’s breathing even out, signalling that she was asleep. He relaxed, his eyes finally starting to close and for the first time in ages, he wasn’t on edge.

As the scars healed and heaven was finally starting to look like heaven again, things calmed down. Everyone got back into routine. Cas had started his training but as he promised Samandriel, he’d go to them on his breaks, no matter how tired he was. Though the physical scars were healed, the damage done emotionally was too much for any angel to bear alone. Samandriel had nightmares about that day almost every night but Castiel was patient with him, humming soothing songs to get him back to sleep, staying with him through the night. Hannah was also not in good shape. In fact, barely any of the fledglings could sleep soundly and Cas couldn’t remember the last time he had a nest to himself. Michael and Raphael, the only remaining archangels, had stopped spending time with them. The only time Castiel saw Michael now was during intense training. The archangel was emotionless. As it turns out, he couldn’t deal that final blow to his younger brother so instead he locked him away in the deepest pit of hell. He knew that it wouldn’t hold him forever. For now though, there was a huge hole where that archangel used to be. Heaven was really feeling the loss of all the turned angels and the ones killed in action. It felt empty now. Empty and quiet. What once was paradise was now gone.


End file.
